Key Management Appointment in Technical Services, Security & Risk and Geology

TORONTO, June 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fura Gems Inc. (TSXV:FURA) (OTC:FUGMF) (FRA:BJ43) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Dibya Baral as Director - Technical Services, Mr. Rahul Gopal as Director - Security and Risk Control and Mr. Amit Sharma as Head – Geology for Mozambique.

Both Mr. Baral and Mr. Gopal will be based in Fura’s administrative headquarters in Dubai and will be reporting to Mr. Ashim Roy, Vice President - Operations. Mr. Baral will be responsible for Fura’s overall technical functions, including mining, geology, processing plants and other technical services. Mr. Gopal will be responsible for the security and risk functions. Mr Sharma will be based in Montepuez and will be reporting to the Project Manager-Mozambique. Mr. Sharma will be responsible for the exploration and mining operations of Fura’s Mozambican ruby project.

Prior to joining Fura, Mr. Baral served as General Manager for Kagem Emerald Mine in Zambia, the world’s largest supplier of emeralds and subsidiary of Gemfields plc. He has worked previously with mining majors like Vedanta Resources and Tata Steel and has a total of 20 years of experience in multi-commodity exploration, development and mining in diverse geological settings and geographical terrains across the globe. Mr. Baral is a professional Geologist and Fellow for Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) and Competent Person for Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and holds a Master of Applied Geology from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, India.

Mr. Gopal has over 15 years of experience in the field of security. Prior to joining Fura, he was the Head of Security for the Montepuez Ruby Mine (“MRM”) in Mozambique, the world’s largest Ruby deposit and a subsidiary of Gemfields plc. While at MRM, he was responsible for putting in the best security practices, incorporating a balanced mix of technological, structural and operational elements. Mr. Gopal has also worked in Nigeria at a petrochemical plant where he was responsible for formulating and implementing security processes as an integrated management system. Mr. Gopal has also worked with Vodafone in India and has also served in the Indian Army as a Major, where he was deployed in the hostile areas of Jammu and Kashmir and was in charge of planning and coordinating operations along the Line of Control.

Mr. Sharma worked with MRM since 2013. During his tenure at MRM, Mr. Sharma and his team were responsible for building the mine from the exploration stage to the production stage. Mr. Sharma has more than 15 years of experience in geology, of which 8 years were in Mozambique at the MRM. He gained African experience in the mining sector as an exploration geologist for gold and gemstones in The Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique. Mr. Sharma holds a Master of Geology from University of Baroda.

Dev Shetty, President & CEO of Fura, commented:

“At Fura we have always tried to hire the best talent from the industry and today I am pleased to welcome our newest team members to the Fura family. As a growing business, we are always on the lookout for unique talent and I am lucky to have Dibya, Rahul and Amit joining our team. They are veterans and very well-respected individuals from the colour gemstone industry. Having worked with all of them in the past and knowing their passion, dedication and commitment, I am certain they will add a lot of value to our business and help take Fura to much greater heights.”

About Fura Gems Inc.

Fura Gems Inc. is a gemstone mining and marketing company which is engaged in the exploration and acquisition of gemstone licences. Fura’s headquarters are located in Toronto, Canada and its administrative headquarters are located in the Almas Tower, Dubai. Fura is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol “FURA”.

Fura is engaged in the exploration of resource properties in Colombia and owns a 76% interest the Coscuez emerald mine in Boyacá, Colombia. Fura is involved in the exploration of rubies in Mozambique through its 80% effective interest in the four ruby licences (4392, 3868, 3869 and 6811) that it acquired in November 2017.

For more information about Fura Gems Inc., please contact:

Regulatory Statements

This press release may contain “forward looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect the impact of managerial appointments, the Company’s exploration activities and mining activities and the Company’s performance. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of exploration activities; regulatory risks; risks inherent in foreign operations, uncertainties with respect to the Coscuez deposit, which has never been subject to modern mining methods nor any comprehensive feasibility study; legacy environmental risks, title risks and other risks of the mining industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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